Hey all, sorry it's taken so long to get this out! Chapter Thirteen actually came out pretty quickly, once I sat down and actually wrote it. :) Chapter Fourteen won't be the same… because I'm not sure what it's exactly going to be about. :\ BUT, if I can't come up with anything by next Monday, then I'll just go ahead and post Chapter Twelve anyway.
Milady Goddess: Glad you like it! ;)
X5-452Star: Phew! I'm glad someone liked it! I just figured that nothing really goes smoothly for poor Kagome, so why should getting her soul back go without a hitch? Thank you for the encouragement, it's *much* appreciated!!
Henio: Sorry it took so long! But I'm glad your enjoying the story!
KhmerGirl: I'm being evil with making you wait, aren't I? :) I'll try harder to get them out faster, I promise!!
Yuki Asao: I'm hurrying! I'm hurrying! ;)
dizzy4: Good! I'm glad no basement for me! I think that Inuyasha and Kagome just belong together, don't you? I don't hate Kikyo or Kouga (or even Hojo, for that matter), but they just need to stay away from Inuyasha and Kagome! :)
Kitty: err… did you even bother to read any of the story? The pairings are Inuyasha/Kagome, Serena/Darien and Miroku/Sango. I will rarely, if ever, stray from those pairings in my stories.
Chelsea C: Ooo, then you're *really* going to hate me later on! ::evil giggle:: But, I know whatcha mean! It'll come... eventually! ;)
Prophetess of Hearts: Gotta love the fluff-factor! Glad ya like!
All right… onto another exciting ::beep!:: err… okay the lie detector went off, so I cannot tell a lie. This ain't very exciting. Just more talking. But there are some explanations, so it's worthwhile to read. (Oh, and I go off from normal Sailor Moon tracks here. You'll see.)
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When Serena woke up again the sun was way past its zenith. She tried to sit up, but realized that something around her waist was weighing her down. She blushed when she realized it was Darien's arm. She could hear his light breaths, so knew he was asleep. She occupied her time by checking on what her friends were up to.
Not far from where she lay sat Miroku and Sango. They were sitting close to each other, both asleep. Sango had her head rested on Miroku's shoulder, while his cheek rested on her head. Serena could already see the embarrassment that they would suffer when they woke up. She noted with a barely repressed 'awwwe' that Kirara was sleeping half on Sango's lap and half on Miroku's lap, on her back, feet up in the air.
She had to repress another 'awwwe' when she saw Kagome, Shippou and Inuyasha. It was not that Shippou was curled up on Kagome's stomach or that Kagome was cuddled in Inuyasha's arms. No, it was that Inuyasha was sleeping with his chin resting on Kagome's head and for the first time since Serena had met him there was nothing but peaceful contentment on his face. No arrogance. No attitude. No worries.
Serena saw stirred from her thoughts then, for Darien was waking up. She turned over in his arms and looked into his sleep blurred blue eyes. He blinked a few times and then smiled. Before she knew what was happening he had claimed her lips in a gentle kiss. She hesitated for a moment before kissing back. The kiss began to get more and more passionate, but they interrupted when someone loudly cleared their throat. They broke apart slowly, blushing madly, and turned to see who had interrupted them.
"About time. We've been trying to get you two apart for awhile," Miroku said with a lecherous grin. It was impossible to determine who had been the one to break them apart because everyone was awake and staring at them. Serena had to wonder 'Just how long were we kissing?!'
Serena decided to draw the attention elsewhere, and targeted Kagome, who was now sitting on the ground next to Inuyasha.
"So, you're okay now?" Serena asked Kagome.
Kagome nodded and then moved over to Serena to wrap her in a hug. "Thank you. I couldn't have worked that out on my own." Kagome whispered into her ear.
Serena pulled back with a smile. "No problem. Just don't make me do it again!" she teased.
Kagome grimaced and shuddered. "I don't want to do it again. I don't like feeling that helpless."
Serena smiled a comforting smile. "No one likes to feel helpless, but as long as you have friends who care about you, you never will be helpless." Then she pulled Kagome into another hug.
Tears sprang into Kagome's eyes but she fought them back. Instead she returned to Inuyasha's side, and decided to return the attention back to Serena.
"So what happened last night?"
Everyone turned their attention to Serena and Darien. They were all curious as to what exactly had gone on with the two.
"Well, I guess I'll start," Serena said, holding back a sigh. "Last night after I heard the screams - I guess it was Kagome and Sango -" they nodded in confirmation "I came running back. I saw Inuyasha pinned to the tree and Miroku unconscious on the ground. When I saw Darien though and realized he was - he was gone, something inside me snapped, let loose almost. I held it down until I saw Ki - until I saw Kagome being aimed at by an arrow. Once I saw it scenes began to flash before my eyes, almost like memories. But they were very strange memories." Serena closed her eyes for a moment and shuddered. Darien pulled her closer to him by an arm around her waist. She opened her eyes, able to continue on borrowed strength.
"I saw my friends - my scouts - dying. Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury were there, but so were scouts that I have yet to see. Yet I instinctively knew they were all my friends. I watched for what seemed like an hour as each of my friends were - killed, but it must have been only milliseconds because when I saw reality again I was looking at Kikyo. I began to talk, it was my voice, yet it wasn't. It definitely wasn't my words, but I had no control over what I was saying. I knew then that something - someone - was taking over me. I didn't care though. It felt right - familiar almost. When my eyes closed though I seemed to fuse with this person, and we were both allowed to talk and move. I let her have control though. She seemed to know what she was doing, she knew not to be afraid of the power growing inside me. Once my eyes opened I knew what was going on. I was the very person I was looking for. The Moon Princess - Princess Serenity.
"Serenity - for it was her then, she held the memories and not I - Serenity was angry, but she was holding back tears. I could see what was making her angry. It was a vision replaying over and over again. An image of a man, who looked like Darien, dressed in regal armor. Over and over again she saw him dying by the hands of a woman - an evil woman. The more she saw the angrier she got. So angry that I began to feel it myself. So, when she began to use the crystal to purify Kikyo, I didn't stop her because the image of Darien laying so still with that arrow in his chest brought such similar emotions to me." Serena had to refrain herself from apologizing again. She had done it enough, for now. She hoped she would be able to talk to Inuyasha privately later on.
"After Kikyo was - gone, I made Serenity - I made us - check on you all. She - I - we," Serena shook her head and smiled a little. "Sorry, this is confusing, even to me!" She sighed. "Anyways, we knew Inuyasha would heal soon, so we just got rid of the arrow. Miroku, on the other hand, was a little worse off." All attention went to Miroku, who just shrugged. "Miroku had had his neck broken, just badly enough so that it was fatal, but not enough to be instant death. Which was a good thing, because it was easier to bring him back." Serena smiled at him. "Miroku, you had death calling you from two points." Miroku nodded in understanding as he unconsciously clenched his right hand into a fist. "Obviously I got rid of the death that hovered around your neck, but as you know I couldn't rid you of the death that surrounds your hand." Miroku gave a curt nod. "I did however buy you some more time."
"What?" Miroku asked, keeping his emotions in check. He was unable though to keep the light of hope from shining in his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"You should be fine for years to come," Serena said with a smile. "We couldn't get rid of death, but I was able to scare it away for awhile." She brightened her smile at the dumbfounded look of shock on Miroku's face. "Oh, and Miroku?" He looked at her, once again composed. "You'd better not waste your time, or I just might reverse it." She smiled to show she was joking, but looked at Sango pointedly for a few moments. The two of them stole a glance at each other and blushed, but Miroku took the opportunity to take Sango's hand. She hesitated for a moment, but then grasped it back.
"After we were done healing Miroku we moved to Darien. I thought nothing could be done, but Serenity knew otherwise. She used to silver crystal so skillfully, I thought I would never figure out how to use it, but then I felt it. The silver crystal is not a tool that can be used by just anyone. It is an extension of a soul, my soul, and only I can use it." She shook her head to rid herself from those thoughts. "Sorry, I'm getting off track. Anyway, Serenity called Darien's soul back, but when she did, it triggered something in him, I guess. I saw him become a prince - Prince Endymion. When I looked into his eyes everything came back to me, and I was no longer just Serena, but also Princess Serenity.
"I was born a millennia ago, on the moon, during the Silver Millennium. My Mother ruled the Moon Kingdom, which included all the planets except for Earth."
Darien broke in and talked for the first time. "I was born here on Earth several years before Serena - Serenity. My parents were the rulers of Earth. Back then we ruled the entire world without contest, yet were unaware of the Moon Kingdom's existence. When representatives first appeared on the behalf of Queen Serenity I must admit there was some panic, but in that day magic was common, so it was easy to accept that there were others in the universe.
"My parents were not pleased with the idea of ruling under someone else, but they were intrigued by those from the other planets. They were busy rulers though, so they sent me to the moon in their place."
Serena giggled. "I was so mad when Mother told me I had to show Prince Endymion around. I never liked meeting dignitaries from the planets. But, then I saw the Prince of Earth and changed my mind."
"I wasn't too happy either! My parents didn't ask me if I wanted to go, they just made me. I changed my mind about the whole thing too when I saw the Moon Princess."
Kagome gave a happy little sigh. "So it was love at first sight for both of you?"
Serena and Darien nodded and smiled at each other, hands clasped.
"Needless to say there were many trips back and forth between the Moon and Earth," Darien said. "Our parents approved of the match and we were to be married when Serenity turned eighteen."
"I was just fifteen at the time, so we weren't exactly rushing things," Serena assured. "We were happy for a while, but then," the smiles fell from both Serena and Darien's faces.
"But then," Darien continued, "rumors began to reach the Moon of a gathering evil. The Outer Sailor Scouts were on alert for signs of trouble, and it soon arrived. I had four guardians that were as much my friends as my guards. Yet one day they disappeared and it was determined that they had gone with the new lurking evil. Whether by choice or by force we never knew. Regardless of how it happened, it ruined our lives."
Serena took over the story. "My Mother was uneasy about the disappearance of Endy's guards. She felt it had been done too easily, and so cut off all contact with Earth. Which led to the breaking of the engagement by Endy's parents. I can't blame either of our parents though, I guess, but I was really upset about it all.
"When my sixteenth birthday came a month later there was a huge ball in my honor, and all the royalty from the planets were there, except for Earth's of course. But then a mysterious man came in. He wore a mask and a tuxedo. Since it was a masquerade ball, I wasn't sure who it was. He didn't wear any of the royal colors or bear a royal mark. Yet the second he took my hand and looked into my eyes, I knew who it was."
"I knew that either of our planets could be attacked at any time," Darien said. "But I had to see Serenity again. It wasn't hard to make it past the guards; everyone was too distracted by the festivities. And that was their downfall."
"That was everyone's downfall," Serena took over. "since all the royalty from the planets were at my ball, so were a good majority of the guards. Which left the planets unprotected. They were gone - everything destroyed - in such a short period of time that there was no warning. So when they attacked the moon we were unprepared. The outlying guards were wiped out surprisingly fast. And then they attacked us. I wasn't allowed to fight, I never was even though I could. And that's when I saw my friends - falling." Darien squeezed her hand comfortingly. "We were caught off guard and easily destroyed. Even after millennias of relative peace we had strong, capable warriors with powerful magic. The Sailor Scouts were the most powerful but even the guards could hold their own. Despite everything though, we were defeated. Everyone - gone." Tears began to run down Serena's cheeks, and finally she gave up and buried her head in Darien's chest, sobbing.
"We all died. Everyone on the moon was wiped out. I-I was gone before it all ended, so I'm not sure how we are here now."
"M-Mother," Serena said, lifting her head back up. She tried to stop her tears, but was not completely successful. "Mother did it. She sent our souls forward to be reborn. She managed to end the battle, killing off the last of Beryl's minions - for it was Beryl's army. Mother wanted to give us all a second change to live and be happy, but in the end she was unable to sort out between the souls of the good and those of the enemy. We were all sent forward, and I guess Beryl found enough of her old people and some new ones to start trying to take over the universe again."
There was silence for a long while after the tale was finished. Miroku broke the silence in a quiet voice.
"Earth was spared?"
"Beryl was saving Earth for last." Serena explained. "She wanted Earth as the planet where she would rule from. And she wanted Endymion to rule by her side."
They all turned to look at Darien.
"Hey! It wasn't like I knew! I'm not even sure how she knew me. She came from no where near here, I think she was from a nearby galaxy." Blank looks were returned to him from all but Kagome and Serena. He sighed. "Never mind."
"It's probably because he - Endymion - was the only prince who was unmarried. Our generation had a shortage of princes." She smiled at Darien. "I got the last one." Then she turned to her friends. "And that's our story, what we remember of it, anyway."
The friends stared at each other for awhile, no one quite sure of what to say.
Finally Kagome broke the silence. "Well, it's getting late." She stood up and moved to her bag. "We should eat some dinner."
Sango and Serena got up to help her and Kagome coaxed Shippou into helping too. No one talked over the quiet sounds of the girls' preparation of dinner, they were all too busy thinking. One person found even the soft crackle of the fire to be too loud for his thoughts.
"I'm going for a walk," Inuyasha said as he stood up. No one stopped him as he left, but Kagome watched as he left, a sad gleam in her eye.
He did not return for dinner and by the time they were done eating, Kagome was visibly worried.
"He's been gone for over an hour, I'm going after him," Kagome said. But Serena put a restraining hand on her arm.
"Don't. I'll go talk to him." Kagome frowned at her. "I hate to say it, but you're probably the last person right now that he'd open up his emotions to." Serena could see the hurt in Kagome's eyes. "Kagome, right now the only thing on his mind is probably you and Kikyo. Do you really want to hear him talk about Kikyo? Do you think he'd talk to you about... you?"
Kagome shook her head. "No, he would never talk to me about me. But I could handle hearing about Kikyo if it helped him. I have a ... slightly better understanding of her now."
Serena knew that Kagome would listen to Inuyasha talk about Kikyo if it would help him to heal, but it would probably only break her heart in the process.
"Kagome, please just let me talk to him. If he won't, then I'll send you."
Kagome sighed. "All right. But how will you find him?"
Serena shrugged. "I've always been able to find my friends if I need to. If I can't find him on instinct, then I'll be able to find him if I transform." She stood up and smiled down at Kagome. "Don't worry. Everything will be okay. Just give it some time."
Kagome nodded and returned a small smile. She hoped that Inuyasha would be okay with all of her heart. She wanted her brash, arrogant, irritating half demon back. She could not stand to see the depression that lurked behind his golden eyes. She sighed. 'Will life ever be normal again?' She had to bite back a laugh. 'Then again, what is normal anymore?' Kagome sat back and waited for the return of her friends.